Aflame (Fall Away #4)(73)

“You’ve never gone easy on me,” I told him, my tone serious. “Don’t hold back now.”

He stared out the front windshield, clearly hating what I wanted from him.

Reaching over, I cranked up the music and then gathered up my hair, tying it up into a ponytail.

He finally looked over at me, and a smile crept out as, he too, reached over and turned up his music.

“Welcome, everyone!” We heard Zack’s voice come over the loudspeaker.

I looked over to see Madoc and Fallon sitting on the bleachers, while Jax and Juliet crossed the track in front of my car, heading over there as well.

The crowd, a mix of high school students as well as friends from way back, took out phones to start videotaping. Many of them were well aware of Jared’s and my history, so they had a vested interest in seeing this little showdown.

Jared’s mouth curled into a grin, and I couldn’t help my foot tapping as anticipation sent shivers up my spine.

He knew I liked the way he looked at me, and he was trying to throw me off. Okay, maybe not on purpose, but whatever.

“These two,” Zack started, booming over the speaker, “need no introduction. It’s a matchup that rivals any we’ve ever had here, and they never fail to bring a few fireworks to the Loop.”

The crowd cheered, and I checked the shifter to make sure I was in first.

“Jared and Tate?” Zack continued. “Best of luck.”

The spectators cheered, and I let out a hard sigh as Jared rolled up the window.

I did the same, lowering the music for a moment.

“Ready!” Zack boomed, since from the position I was in, I couldn’t see the signal lights.

“Set!” I heard, swallowing through the dryness in my mouth.

Jared and I both pressed the gas, too excited to contain it.

“Go!” The roar raged through my ears, and Jared and I tore away from each other, the screech of our tires sending the crowd cheering louder.

I shot down into second and then up into third, gaining speed quickly and smoothly. Jared and I pulled farther and farther away from each other, and glancing in my rearview mirror, I was surprised that I didn’t really like seeing his distance away from me increase. I could almost feel it on my skin.

Just like magnets.

His brake lights flashed, and I tightened my grip on the steering wheel, seeing him skid around the next corner.

Shit.

Hitting the gas, I shifted straight into fifth, skipping fourth altogether and spinning around the turn. The rotten thing about my car was that it was about three hundred pounds heavier than his, so he could maneuver quicker and easier.

Shooting back into third, I hit the gas, charged ahead, and shot back up to fifth and then sixth. Jared’s muscle car looked like a rocket blowing up rainwater on the track as it raced ahead toward the next turn.

I tensed my thigh muscles, feeling a thrill creep up my insides.

Damn, he was hot. I couldn’t see him through his blacked-out windows, but he was still managing to turn me the hell on.

Surfing around the next turn, I charged ahead, staying on my right as Jared plowed toward me, and I let out a laugh as he passed.

I loved racing him. I always felt the rush, and no matter whom else I’d raced, nothing felt as good.

A chill spread over my skin, despite the hoodie, and I didn’t hesitate to barrel around the next turn, charging ahead.

I didn’t want to win or need to win, but I wanted to have this with him.

My music cut off, and my phone started ringing on the touch screen. I pressed Accept Call.

“Yes?” I answered.

“What happens if I win?” Jared asked, and his velvet voice caressed my skin.

I hesitated, not sure how to answer. “Then . . .” I searched for words. “Then I guess I trust that you’ll always give me your best.”

He was quiet, and I could hear the crowd ahead.

“And if I lose?” he asked, sounding unusually sad. “Will you still trust that I gave you my best?”

A lump rose in my throat, and I blinked away the sudden tears.

“Jared.” I folded my lips between my teeth, trying not to cry. He wanted to know if I trusted him.

“I can’t promise I’ll wake up every day operating at a hundred percent, Tate,” he admitted. “No one can.”

I heard his voice change as he struggled to round the last turn, and I shifted down, doing the same, the steering wheel trying to pull against me as I skidded.

“But”—he breathed hard from the exertion—“I can promise I’ll always put you first.”

“Then, prove it,” I urged in a thoughtful voice. “Meet my match.”

I shot down into fifth and then up into sixth, seeing his lights ahead.

This was it. One of us was going between the barriers, and the other would be forced to take the lane to the outside, and he was f*cking with my head right now, and I just wanted him to race.

“Tate . . . ,” he said in a hesitant voice.

“Jared, just go,” I pressed. “It’s you. It’s only you. You’re the only one who challenges me, so challenge me! Don’t hold back. I trust you.”

I squeezed the wheel, my eyebrows pinching together as I pressed myself back into the seat.

Go, go, go . . .

Shooting for the starting line, I pushed the gas to the floor, seeing him charge ahead, both of us in the path marked by the barriers.